Apple Adds Support for Indian Navigation System NavIC in New iPhone 15 Pro Models

The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models were announced in September.

Apple has announced that it has extended support for NavIC to its iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models. NavIC, which stands for Navigation with Indian Constellation, was developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and launched in 2018 as an alternative to GPS. Through eight satellites, NavIC offers location and timing information across India and its surrounding region. Apple's decision to incorporate NavIC into its newest iPhone models follows a push by the Indian government to adopt the home-grown technology, which has already been supported by numerous other smartphone manufacturers.

A lack of support had initially been caused by manufacturers' concerns that the necessary hardware changes would push up the cost of their devices. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus variants do not yet support NavIC as standard. The technology's applications include resource monitoring, terrestrial, aerial, and marine transportation, location-based services, surveying and geodesy, scientific research, time synchronization, safety-of-life alert dissemination, and personal mobility. The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models were announced in September.